BMC to rent out market stalls to hawkers, unemployed youth

The civic body intends to rent out market stalls owned by it to hawkers with licences. The stalls received under the accommodation reservation scheme will be rented out at nominal rates to licensed hawkers and educated unemployed youth.

In the accommodation reservation scheme, a private party gets the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) on a plot once it has been handed over to the BMC with all amenities in place.

Permit required: The city has over 3 lakh hawkers while only 13,787 hold licences. Representation pic

The BMC possesses stalls in 75 markets under the accommodation reservation policy in various parts of the city. “We will rent out stalls to hawkers and educated unemployed people at cheaper rates,” said Sitaram Kunte, municipal commissioner.

An official from the market department said that the final scheme, including particulars like the amount of rent, duration of holdings and other parameters, will be finalised soon.

The city has over 3 lakh hawkers while only 13,787 hold licences. There were 15,159 licence-holders in 1970.

The decline in numbers occurred due to the fact that the BMC did not transfer licences to the legal heirs of hawkers who died.

According to the BMC’s statistics, the encroachment removal department has evicted 5.42 lakh hawkers from the city in the past three years and collected Rs 8.32 crore in the form of fines.

The problem, however, is that even after eviction, many hawkers return after paying a fine.

Kunte faints mid-speech On Wednesday, the discussion over the civic budget started in the morning at 11.30 am and went on till 5.30 am the next day. BMC Commissioner Sitaram Kunte started to speak on corporators’ suggestions about the scheme at about 5.35 am on Thursday but soon felt giddy. Mayor Sunil Prabhu allowed him to leave the general body meeting. “My sugar levels have gone down because of lack of sleep and eating nothing the whole night,” said Kunte.